1. Active Transportation and
the Charisma of Place
Keith Laughlin
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
February 3, 2012

2. RTC 101
• Founded in 1986
• 150,000 Members
and supporters
• HQ in DC with 4
Regional Offices
• 35 Staff

3. Our Mission
To create a nationwide network of trails
from former rail lines and connecting
corridors…
…to build healthier places for healthier
people.

4. Looking Back
Past success:
• 1986: 250 miles
• 2012: 20,000 miles

11. Two Keys to Our Success
1) Federal Investment:
- $9.87 Billion in Transportation
Enhancements funding since 1992;
- 2/3 of $$ for trails, walking and biking
2) Local Partnerships

12. Looking Ahead:
Our Audacious Goal
By 2020, 90 percent
of Americans will live
within three miles of
a local trail system.

13. An Even More Audacious Goal
for the Future
To create active transportation systems:
…seamless networks of trails, on road
cycling facilities, and sidewalks – all
connected to public transportation – that
will give people the choice of mobility
without an automobile.

14. Utopian?
NO.
But to imagine what’s possible in
the future it’s useful to
understand what has happened in
the past.

15. 1919: Transcontinental Motor
Convoy

16. 1919: Transcontinental Motor
Convoy
• Traveled from Washington DC to San
Francisco
• 3,251 miles in 62 days
• Averaged 52 miles per day

17. 1939: NY World’s Fair
General Motor’s
“Futurama” Exhibit
Caption: “Two 14-lane express
highways cross in 1960”

18. 1956: The National Interstate and
Defense Highways Act

19. 1982: Transit Investment
• Transit capital investments become
eligible for highway trust fund monies.

20. 1991: A Major Shift Begins
• Eisenhower Interstate System is
completed; 46,000 miles at a cost of $425
billion (2006 dollars)
• ISTEA passed and Transportation
Enhancements created; has provided over
$6 billion for trails/bike/ped since 1992

21. 1994: The “Information
Superhighway”
“The Greatest
Social Revolution
Since the
Automobile”
- January 1994

22. 2003: Attack on Transportation
Enhancements
• Petri Amendment (R-WI) to restore
funding was approved by a bipartisan vote
of 320-90.
• Inoculated us from additional attacks

23. 2005: Passage of SAFETEALU
Three major accomplishments:
• Transportation Enhancements
preserved
• Safe Routes to Schools created
• Non-Motorized Pilot Project created

24. 2005: Beyond TE;
The NMPP
$25 Million each to:
• Columbia, MO
• Marin Co, CA
• Minneapolis, MN
• Sheboygan Co, WI

25. 2009: A New Day at USDOT
“We have a window of
opportunity to think
differently about
transportation and
propose bold, new
approaches to improve
the livability of our
nation’s communities.”
Secretary LaHood
June 2009

26. 2010: The Bike Lash Begins
“…"Strategic Plan 2010-2015" reaches
new depths of incoherence and
sloganeering on behalf of an extreme
green agenda…”
Tollroad News
May 2010

27. 2010: Earth Day
“You must be a
bicyclist.”
Pres. Barack Obama
April 22, 2010

28. 2011: It works!
% Increase
2007 – 2010: Cyclists Walkers
Columbia, MO……… +26% +14%
Marin Co, CA………. +68% +24%
Minneapolis, MN…… +32% +17%
Sheboygan Co, WI… +23% +12%

29. It Pays
Active
Transportation
For America
The Case for Increased
Federal Investment in
Bicycling and Walking
www.railstotrails.org/atfa

30. It’s Popular
How
Respondents
Would
Allocated
Transportation
Funding
37% 41% 22%
Roads
Public Transportation
Bicycling & Walking
How
Transportation
Funding is
Allocated in
Reality
79% 20% 1%

31. 2011: Something is happening
among the young…

32. 2012: … A Cultural Shift
• It works!
• It pays!
• It’s popular!
• It’s in the streets!
• It’s in advertising…
• People want it!
• And it’s COOL!

33. 2012: Yesterday
The American Energy and Infrastructure
Jobs Act:
• Eliminates guaranteed funding for
Transportation Enhancements
• Makes rail-trail conversions ineligible for
federal funding
• Eliminates Safe Routes to School
• Eliminates trust fund revenues for transit

34. 2012: Yesterday
• The Petri-Johnson-Lipinski Amendment
was defeated 27-29.
• Thanks: Rep. Bernice-Johnson
• Spanks: Rep. Farenthold

35. 2012: Next Week
On to the Senate….

36. 2012: The Great Paradox
• Trails and active transportation have never
been more popular or in greater demand
• But powerful forces want to turn back the
clock to 1956: no transit, no trails, no bike/
ped
• Highways only: “Drive, Baby, Drive!”

37. 2012: Dueling Visions
We are witnessing a clash of two
very different visions of transportation
in America.

38. Dueling Visions of the Future: This?

39. Or This?

40. This?

41. Or This?

42. Where Do We Go From Here?
• Four part strategy:
- Making Our Case
- Organize, Organize, Organize
- Raising Our Voices
- Expanding Our Movement

43. Expanding Our Movement
Primary Targets:
• Local elected officials, particularly
Republicans
• Health care advocates & industry
• Economic and community development
specialists
• Large employers looking for talented
young workers

44. A Large Employer
• Lexis-Nexis
• Information/Technolgy Firm
• Dayton, OH
• Has the ear of its governor

45. “We need to make Ohio
COOL.”

46. The Charisma of Place
“The new sort of competition is all
about charisma. It’s about
gathering talent in one spot...”
David Brooks
“The Talent Magnet”
New York Times
January 24, 2011

47. A Dictionary Definition
Charisma
- a special magnetic charm or appeal

48. What Makes a Place Charismatic?
• “Community quality of life…”
• “Nearby active outdoor recreation…”
• “Hot companies in cool places…”

49. Does this have
special magnetic appeal?

50. Is This An Extreme Green Agenda?

51. Conclusion
• We are in for a major fight.
• There will be setbacks.
• But we will ultimately prevail.
• The tired 1939 vision of GM’s Futurama
exhibit has passed its shelf life.
• We are redefining what it means to be a
healthy community in the 21st century.
• Trails and bikes will be at the center.